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Consensus opinion coming into 2022 was that high M&A volume would continue, albeit not quite at the record-setting pace of 2021. The market had other plans. Volume decreased much more sharply from the 2021 high than was commonly expected. While …
2022 was an active year for the U.S. federal antitrust enforcement agencies. There were important developments in all key areas of the agencies’ remit, from merger enforcement to civil conduct cases to criminal prosecutions. 2023 may prove to be one …
On December 29, 2022, the Second Circuit issued its highly anticipated opinion on remand in United States v. Blaszczak (“Blaszczak II”), reconsidering the case following the Supreme Court’s January 2021 vacatur of the Second Circuit’s original decision upholding …
The U.S. is the largest market for merger and acquisition (“M&A”) activity, with nearly 7,900 transactions accounting for a record $2.6 trillion in value in 2021.[1] The primary M&A enforcement agencies in the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) …
In April 2022, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (DOJ) previewed the DOJ’s intent to more aggressively enforce the prohibition on interlocking directorates under Section 8 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 19. …
Last month, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division announced its first criminal attempted monopolization charges in more than 40 years. In the case, U.S. v. Zito, Nathan Nephi Zito, the owner of a Montana paving company, pleaded guilty to …
On October 18, 2022, Deputy Attorney General (“DAG”) Lisa O. Monaco announced that Lafarge SA (“Lafarge”), a multi-national building materials manufacturer headquartered in Paris, France, and its Syrian subsidiary Lafarge Cement Syria (“LCS”) had pleaded guilty in the Eastern District …
Biden-appointed antitrust officials have asserted, unfairly in our view, that private equity firms deserve heightened scrutiny when they engage in corporate transactions. For example, the head of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division said in an interview with The Financial Times earlier …
Under the Biden administration, the U.S. antitrust agencies are taking an aggressive approach to merger enforcement, and have outlined strategies that move away from historical merger review tools in favor of more enforcement-friendly standards. But recent court decisions have tested …
After determining that the DOJ failed to meet its burden of proof, a Delaware federal court denied the government’s request to enjoin the $315 million acquisition of Imperial Sugar by U.S. Sugar. The court found that the DOJ failed to …
On September 13, 2022, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a settlement with Prosperity Bank, a regional bank with branches in Texas and Oklahoma, for processing a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan on behalf of an ineligible borrower.…
Since President Biden issued his July 2021 Executive Order on Competition, the antitrust agencies have made broad policy statements promising more aggressive enforcement and have initiated a number of high-profile enforcement actions. Rather than establishing a record of success, the …
On July 21, 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) each brought insider trading charges against a former Coinbase product manager, his brother and a close friend for using material non-public information (MNPI) to …
Good afternoon. I’m Matt Olsen and I am the Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the United States Department of Justice.
I’m very pleased to be here at CyCon. Thank you to Lucas for moderating this panel, to my
From April 5 through April 8, 2022, the Antitrust Section of the American Bar Association held its annual Spring Meeting in Washington, D.C. A prominent theme throughout the week was the role of the antitrust laws in the lives of …
At a recent New York City Bar Association event, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco emphasized the Department of Justice’s focus on sanctions evasion and export control violations as key to its work to combat corporate crime.
At …
Merger control authorities in many jurisdictions are taking a more aggressive and expansive approach when reviewing industry-consolidating transactions, and some are using the merger clearance process to advance policy objectives involving areas far beyond those of traditional competition. In addition, …
On February 17th, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an initiative to protect supply chains from anticompetitive behavior amid global disruptions and persistent inflation. The initiative is yet another example of the Biden Administration’s aggressive approach to antitrust enforcement since …